Casualties

No new mine or explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties were identified in Montenegro in 2011. In 2012,the media reported two casualties. In July, five people were injured bya landmine while traveling in a car near the city of Gusinje, close to the border with Albania.[1]

Prior to 2012, the last casualtiesreported in Montenegro werein 2008, when a border police officer was injured when he drove over a landmine and achild was injured by an M35 Italian hand grenade he found in a wall in Podgorica.[2]The Monitor has identified 11mine/ERW casualties (four killed andseven injured) between 1999 and December 2011.This included five children; one of the adults was a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Cluster submunitions caused fourcivilian casualties since their use in 1999. Another four civilian casualties occurred during cluster munition strikes.[3]

Victim Assistance

The total number of survivors living in Montenegro is not known; in 2004, 260 mine/ERW survivors were recorded as living in Montenegro.[4]Montenegro is known to have victims of cluster submunitions,[5]and as a States Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Montenegro is therefore obligated to provide comprehensive victim assistance.

There is no specific victim assistance coordination in Montenegro. The Ministries of health, labor and social welfare, education and sports, science, culture, and human and minority rights all have responsibilities for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.[6]In December 2007, Montenegro adopted the Strategy for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities in Montenegro (2008–2016), an action plan to ensure compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[7] Progress towards the implementation of the strategy was reviewed by an intersectoral commission, including NGOs, in early 2011.[8] NGOs found that the government was significantly behind in implementing the strategy.[9]

According to the government, emergency medical care is available for all citizens of Montenegro through the national Institute for Urgent Health Care.[10]

Mine/ERW survivors, including survivors of cluster submunitions,along with all victims of war, are entitled to free medical care and physical rehabilitation, including prosthetic limbs, through the national health insurance system. This law, regulating the national health insurance, recognizes the category of victims of cluster munitions. However, it does not discriminate against or among cluster munitions victims, or between cluster munitions victims and those who have suffered injuries or disabilities from other causes; differences in treatment are based only on medical, rehabilitative, psychological or socio-economic needs of victims.[11] While all persons with disabilities are entitled to free health care, it was reported in 2011 that such care was not always satisfactory and, in at least one case, a person with a disability was refused care.[12]

In 2011, the disability allowance was insufficient and unemployment remained a serious problem for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors. There was a quota system that required employers to hire persons with disabilities but it was not adequately enforced.[13]

In May 2011, a new disability law was adopted that clarified what discriminatory actions were illegal; however, discrimination persisted and laws were not implemented effectively. Legislation required all new public buildings be made accessible to persons with disabilities but older public buildings, including hospitals, were not accessible during 2011.[14]

Montenegro ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitieson 2 November 2009.